1. Field
One or more embodiments within the following description relate to an apparatus and method for building a map, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for accurately building a map of unknown surroundings.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most fundamental function of an autonomous mobile robot is to move to a destination without collision. This function is achieved using a localization technique and a mapping technique performed by the autonomous mobile robot. The autonomous mobile robot uses a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm to localize itself and build a map. According to the SLAM algorithm, a process of building a map of the surroundings at some position and localizing a robot on the basis of the built map is repeated to simultaneously estimate the position of the robot and relative positions of the robot's surroundings.
To build a map, a mobile robot generally measures a distance using a laser scanner or camera and an odometer. However, errors accumulate when the SLAM algorithm is executed due to a variety of unpredictable factors such as a feature extraction error, an unknown odometry error, and a camera geometry error.